Thanks for reading this far! Some chapters will be long and some will be shorter, all will be over 2,000 words! Next chapter should be a long one! Thanks for the reviews so far, please feel free to leave me a little comment about what you think, any errors you've spotted or any questions you have! Thank you!
Chapter 3 - Love Always Comes When You Least Expect It
My eyes blearily open to reveal the muted sun. The curtains had clearly been drawn and they were blocking out the direct daylight, which made keeping my eyes open a lot easier. I yawned and groggily pushed myself up into a sitting position. I dug the heels of my palms into my eyes and pulled my hands down my face, still half asleep.
"Good morning" Cas says clearly and loudly into the empty room. I scream, startled by his being there.
"Jesus, I'm up, I'm up" Dean stirs in the bed across from me, sleepily holding himself up with his right forearm against the bed. Sam also awakens, a bit more alert than Dean. I hold my hands up in defence.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry it's just" I point accusingly at Cas "He scared me" I explain wearily, flopping back down on the bed.
"I didn't mean to scare you" Cas says innocently. Dean is not amused by his sudden awakening but Sam seems to find it quite funny.
"I know, but you did. What are you doing up so early?" Cas opens his mouth to speak but Dean cuts across him.
"He's an angel, he doesn't sleep" he buries his head into his pillow and I try to hold back a laugh.
"Right ok, angel equals no sleep. Got it" I nod, hauling myself up out of bed. I toddle into the kitchen, switching on the kettle, which was still full from last time I attempted to make coffee.
"Coffee anyone?" I call out.
"Yeah, thanks" Sam calls back. I hear Dean grumble about needing a beer instead but I choose to ignore him. I fill the cups with water and carefully stir in the coffee, making sure not to burn myself again. I bring it into the room, offering one to Sam.
"I wasn't sure if you took sugar?" I say unhelpfully. He looks up and me and smiles kindly.
"This is great, thank you" I nod and settle back down on my bed, crossing my legs and leaning back on the wall slightly. I cradle my coffee, taking a sip before braving the reality.
"So, did you find anything?" I ask, half of me is hopeful, but the other half is dreading the answer.
"Yeah, so get this. Apparently, 'Lorelei' is another name for 'Venus'" Sam says, full of information and facts.
"The hell is Venus?" Dean says grumpily, kind of paying attention.
"She's like the Goddess of love. It's just the Roman name of Aphrodite" He tries to explain to his brother.
"Ugh, Gods" Dean moans, still into his pillow. I almost laugh but it doesn't seem like the right time.
"Ok, so we think that for some reason, unbeknownst to us, possibly Lucifer thinks that I'm the reincarnation of Venus?" I say it all out loud, not sounding as if I believe the words even as I recite them. I meet somber, hard thinking faces.
"Well, as far as we know, he's right. You might just be 'Venus' or 'Aphrodite'" I stare at Sam ludicrously.
"It's not exactly like boys fall over themselves to marry me. I've never had any mojo, or for that matter, any actual flirting skills" I gesture wildly, still clutching my coffee cup. "And how come no one has ever been in contact with me? I've read my fair share of mythology and I'm pretty sure I'm Zeus's favourite," I exclaim, looking at the three men. Dean avoids my eyes and Sam averts his own gaze. "What?" I say, but my head snaps to Cas as he begins to speak.
"This isn't something small. Venus is a major god, if Lucifer wants her - or you - then it's for something big" He sounds grave and I feel the fright in my stomach. I swallow it down and force myself to smile.
"Well, I'll deal with it when it happens, if anything happens" I take another sip of coffee. Sam looks worriedly at me but I pretend not to notice. I climb up from the bed and place my mug down.
"I need a shower" I look down at my uniform "And I need to go and buy new clothes" I say, repulsed at the state of them.
"We'll have a look for something of ours you can wear until we can get to a store" Sam offers kindly. I smile gratefully at him, acknowledging how nice he's being to me.
"Thank you so much! I have money, as long as we can get somewhere that sells clothes" he nods and with that, I walk towards the bathroom. I close the door, put my back to it and sink down onto the floor. I try to be strong, especially in front of people, but here I can't help but feel the weight of everything come crashing down on me. Amber and Roy are probably dead, if that demon had anything to do with it. And now I was on the run from what we think is Lucifer? I'd up and left the small life I'd built and suddenly everything from those scary movies I would never watch is real. I violently yank off my stupid dress uniform and turn on the hot water, stepping under it and sitting down. I close my eyes and let the water run over me, not thinking, not sleeping, just being. I know I can't stay this way forever, but for now, it was good enough.
I climb out of the shower, roughly towel drying my hair and grabbing another one to wrap around my body. I open the door slightly, peeking out to see a pile of clothes left near the door. I quickly grab them and slip back into the bathroom. I'm not particularly short, I'm actually quite tall, but Sam had to be at the very least 6 inches taller than me. I was around 5,10 and I was guess Sam and Dean were both in the 6 foot area. I pulled on his black top and it fell just above my knee. I wasn't exactly used to wearing such short things casually, but there was no way his jeans were staying on me. He had also left me a checked shirt that I pulled on comfortably. I pulled my fingers through my hair and left it hanging down. I tugged at the bottom of the t-shirt uncomfortably before I sighed, resigning myself to it being uncomfortably short. I balled up my uniform, tucking it under my arm. Don't suppose I'll be needing it anymore but who knows? I push open the door and walk back into the room, feeling stupidly self conscious about what I was wearing. I observed Cas still sat in the chair he was in when I had left and Dean nowhere to be seen. I chucked my uniform onto the bed I had claimed as mine and sat on it.
"Thanks for the clothes Sam" I offer to the taller man. He clears his throat and smiles at me.
"No problem. I knew it was long shot but I'm guessing there was no chance with the jeans?" I nod, laughing a bit.
"I mean, I consider myself tall, but holy shit man you are tall" I gesture to the length of his t-shirt on me. He laughs too, smiling genuinely and making me feel a little less insecure. Cas looks deep in thought and I move my attention to him.
"Whatcha pondering there buddy?" I ask sweetly, catching his eye.
"Nothing of great interest. I'd just like to get to the bottom of this" He says earnestly. I nod, agreeing with him.
"Speaking of, any leads?" I ask Sam, but the door sweeps open and in enters Dean.
"Nothing yet, we gotta get hold of a demon. Get some info and then gank 'em" I look up at him skeptically.
"If the last one didn't talk, what makes you think this one will?" I say fairly. He looks at me, an eyebrow raised at my doubts.
"You got a better plan?" His gruff voice asks, not unkindly but not exactly 'my little pony'.
"Well…kinda" I begin, already regretting the words as three heads all snap to me.
"You do?" Sam says seriously.
"Well, as far as we know, it's me that they're after. So we have a way to lure them in. I can get them to tell me what it's all about and you guys can burst in, guns blazing, and 'gank 'em'" I quote Dean and he smiles witheringly at me.
"No, absolutely not" Dean says almost immediately. I go to protest but Sam cuts in.
"She's got a point though, there's no knowing that we can get them to tell us anything. She might have a shot" His voice sounds strained but honest.
"Yeah, and then what? We put the most valuable piece we have on the board and if we lose it - Lucifer wins? I'm sorry, but handing over exactly what they want doesn't sound like a plan to me" Dean argues back, his eyes blazing. I stand up, still conscious of the length of the t-shirt.
"Then what do we do? Wait around for them to just find me? That's no plan either! We're not getting anywhere by having me sit in here like some monkey under house arrest" I exclaim stubbornly.
"Yeah, well, we'll think of something. But we are not going through with that plan, end of" There's silence and I feel furious. I just want this to be over and I will not let them leave me behind to be babysat. This is my life here, it's me they want! So I have a right to take action. I open my mouth to begin arguing again but I let out a small squeak of surprise when I catch myself in the mirror.
"Guys" I say, panicking. "Guys, am I? What the? Why am I glowing?" I begin hoping from foot to foot in a mad attempt to make it stop. While I wasn't exactly glitter-ball disco queen, there was definitely a light glow emitting from my skin. Cas stands up, staring at me in fascination.
"That is interesting" He mutters, walking towards me. I step back from him, my leg hitting the bed.
"What if I burn you?" I say worriedly. He smiles reassuringly at me.
"Glowing is nothing bad. The way you're glowing now just suggests you're feeling a strong emotion, there's nothing dangerous about this yet" My eyes widen at his casual 'yet'. Apparently I'm not alone.
"Yet?" Sam asks, rising from his sitting position on the bed. Cas doesn't seem to hear him though, he just places a hand on my arm and calm washes over me, dulling the glow until I am normal again.
"That's the freakiest thing I've ever seen" I say, releasing a breath and collapsing onto the bed.
"Welcome to our world" Dean offers sarcastically.
"I hate to say it, but we're still without a plan" Sam informs us. I sigh, resting my chin on my hands. Cas, who hasn't moved since he stopped my fairy initiation, sits down next to me on my bed.
"Can I at least go and get some clothes?" I ask tiredly, out of nowhere. Sam looks to me and nods.
"Yeah, of course" I get up, grab my bag and stride to the door.
"Wait, we should come too. Or, at least one of us" Dean says, not sounding like he's offering. He looks to Sam who shakes his head and then to Cas who stares at him for a moment before saying:
"It's your car." Dean huffs, grabbing his jacket and following me out of the door.
"Sonova bitch" he mutters and I hold back a laugh. I close the door, smiling sneakily at Sam. We make our way to the Impala and I'm finally stable enough to appreciate the nice car.
"Nice wheels" I comment quietly. Dean smiles, pulling the door open.
"It was my dads" I nod, accepting this as I climb in.
"Everyone gets the idea from somewhere, I'm sure it's as much yours as it was his" I mutter openly. I can feel Dean glance at me for a minute before he turns and puts the key in ignition. We only drive for a short time, pulling into a small complex of shops. We both get out and I pause for a moment, observing a place to look for clothes. I make my way towards one of the stores and Dean trails behind me. I stop so he can catch up and start walking again.
"Tell me about yourself Dean" I say conversationally.
"What?" he sounds genuinely confused.
"Well, other than the fact that you and who I think is your brother saved my life, I don't know anything else about you" I offer, striding into the shop. Dean purses his lips and nods in agreement.
"I guess you're right. Ok, well," He pauses and follows me around as I pick up a few things. I grab two pairs of jeans and hold them up to my legs to check the length, "You're correct, Sam and I are brothers. We're Hunters, have been our whole lives, it's how our dad raised us." He informs me. I fondle a top on a hanger and consider it for a while before picking it up.
"You seem to have a lot of respect for your father." I say casually.
"The hell'd you get that from?" I shrug.
"Well, your voice takes on this wistful tone. Like there's something you wish you could tell him" I explain observantly. I kind of prided myself in being able to read people well. It was a skill I've improved by always moving around.
"Yeah well, he kinda left before I had the chance to say goodbye." He admits gruffly. I nod, saying no more.
"Anyway, Me and Sammy stuck together. I always looked out for him. He went away to college for a while and it was…" I wait patiently as I make my way towards the shoes "it was rough, without him. But he came back. We've been through hell, literally. But we're still together" He sounds barely sentimental and like he doesn't want to really talk about himself anymore. I pick up a pair of canvas shoes and admire them.
"My mum, she was very ill." I begin calmly, making my way towards the checkout. "In her last few years, she couldn't really do much for herself. She was in and out of hospital all the time." I pause, swallowing as I dump my stuff on a self service checkout. I glance at Dean, who seems to be listening intently.
"So I looked after her for most of it." I grab my card out of my purse and shove it into the machine in order to pay. "When she," I pause again "When she died, she knew it was going to happen. She told me she loved me and that she'd see me soon, but not too soon." I stuff the items into the bag and begin walking out.
"At the time I thought she was just being silly." I exit the shop and keep walking towards the car. I stop just outside of it. "She went when I was asleep" I finish quietly. Dean looks pitying and I wave him off.
"It was a while ago, I'm fine now. I'm sure you and your brother have experienced demons in the more literal sense then I have. But we all have 'em Dean, I'm sure you're more fucked up than me - no offence -"
"None taken." He replies smoothly and I continue on.
"But you're not the only fucked up one." I take a deep breath and smile widely, opening the door to the car and dumping the bag inside. Out of nowhere, a child runs up to the car. I bend down to greet him.
"Hey there little guy, where are your parents?" I look around for them but can't see anyone. He shakes his head and holds something out to me.
"This is for me?" I ask confused, I look to Dean, who shrugs unhelpfully.
"Thank you." I say comfortingly to the boy. He looks up at me and gives me an unholy smirk that makes me stand up straight and take a step back.
"Be seeing you" he says before he runs off. I clutch the paper and look back at Dean then down at the envelope. I open it carefully, worried it might explode. I pull out an elegant invitation, scattered with rose petals. Cursive writing reveals it's purpose and I scan it in disbelief.
"What is it?" Dean says, half impatient and half worried.
"It's an invitation." I murmur.
"What?" he waits expectantly for my answer.
"An invitation to a dinner party with Gods." I elaborate.
"The hell?" He moves around to my side of the car and reads the card in my hard.
"You didn't even know who you were yesterday - how the hell do they know who you are?" Dean asks, just as puzzled as me.
"Think about it, Dean. In the diner when that demon came for me, he told me to 'cut the crap'! And I seemed to know who I was in my flashback and now this?" I gesture exasperatedly.
"Dean, I don't think they've ever realised that I don't know who I am. They think I still remember who I am." I explain, pretty sure that it's true.
"Well then, I guess we've got a party to attend." Dean says simply, closing my door for me and making his way back to the store.
"What?" Now it's my turn to be confused.
"Can't disappoint, let's go get you a dress."
There's not going to be a chapter for a few days as I'm working on a very long, very important one and I don't want to rush to get it out and have the story go in the wrong direction. Thanks for reading and hopefully understanding!
Alex :)